A balloon catheter includes an outer conduit having an outer surface, and an inner conduit having an outer surface. The inner conduit is suitable for passage over a guide wire, and the inner conduit is movably disposed within the lumen of the outer conduit. There is also a balloon having a proximal margin and a distal margin, such that the proximal margin of the balloon is attached to the outer surface of the distal tip of the outer conduit and the distal margin of the balloon is attached to the outer surface of the portion of the inner conduit that extends beyond the distal tip of the outer conduit. And there is a fluid port for introducing an expansion fluid into the annular space formed between the inner surface of the outer conduit and the outer surface of the inner conduit and into the lumen of the balloon, and for the removal of the expansion fluid.